Second Best Ever GCSE Results: AHA Celebrates a 10% Rise

Telephone: 01376 321813 | admin@alechunter.com | www.alechunter.com
22 September 2015| Week A | Issue #39
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Second Best Ever GCSE Results: AHA
Celebrates a 10% Rise
Welcome back to a new school year and an especially warm welcome
to the 186 students who have just joined our incoming Year 7. All
seems to have gone smoothly with the transition from primary school
and we are looking forward to working with you and your families over
the next 5 years.
There is certainly a vibrant and positive atmosphere around school at
present, no doubt prompted by the very pleasing outcomes from the
summer GCSE results, as Alec Hunter Academy secured the second best
set of results in its history. 48% of students achieved the benchmark
measure of 5 or more A*-C grades including English and maths,
representing a dramatic 10% increase on the 2014 figure, despite the
fact that grade boundaries in both core subjects moved upwards yet
again, making it harder to gain the higher grades. 42% of our students
gained at least one A or A* grade and 98% left with a minimum of 5
qualifications.
Many colleagues came in to school on 20th August to share in the joy
and relief of the students as they opened their envelopes, an indication
of the strong relationships that had been forged with this year group,
who were an absolute pleasure to work with, both collectively and as
individuals. We were delighted for them and also for their parents,
many of whom were also present, since they had worked closely with
us to ensure that we secured this fine performance.
School Opening Times
Visitors’ Reception
Monday-Thursday: 8:15am-4:15pm
Friday: 8:15am-3:45pm
Student Reception
8:15am—3:25pm
Student Absence
We would be grateful if parents
reporting absence would use this
service:
Tel: 01376 559356
Text: 07598 393348
jjackson@alechunter.com
Please be aware that the text
number is only for texts and there is
no voicemail service.
September Diary Dates:
24th – Year 8 Target Review /
Options Information Evening
th
28 – Gosfield School Enterprise
Competition
October Diary Dates:
1st – Year 9 Target Review Evening
8th – Open Evening for Prospective
Parents (7pm)
th
9 – Non-Pupil Day
12th to 16th – Year 6 Open Mornings
14th – Year 11 Information & Subject
Resource Evening
th
26 to 30th – Half Term
Week Commencing
28/09/15 is Week B
Telephone: 01376 321813 | admin@alechunter.com | www.alechunter.com
22 September 2015| Week A | Issue #39
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This sharp rise in results endorses our view, and Ofsted’s judgement,
that Alec Hunter is a rapidly improving school, moving firmly in the
right direction. Numerous subject areas registered their best ever
performance, with yet another record-breaking year for the maths
department (67% A*-C), but also fabulous results from PE, Graphics,
RPE, Biology, Chemistry and Travel & Tourism (all gaining 100% A*-C).
However, it was a team effort and every curriculum area had
something to celebrate:
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Catering – 94% A*-C
Textiles – 91% A*-C
Music – 83% A*-C
German – 83% A*-C
Art – 80% A*-C
ICT – 78% A*-C
English – Best results since 2011; up 12% from last year
Y10 English Lit – 59% A*-C; up 17% from last year
Science – 51% gained 2 or more Sciences at C or better, our
best ever outcome on this measure
Geography – Up 16% from last year
History – Up 15% from last year
Numerous students gained outstanding individual results, most
notably Head Girl Chloe Stevens, who bagged a staggering 12 A*
grades, plus an A grade in an AS Level, whilst Josh Greenberg led the
boys with an equally impressive 9 A* grades and 3 As. Other top
performers, who deserve the heartiest congratulations on a brilliant
performance, were:
Monitors
Well done to the following
students for their recent
monitoring duties
w/c 7th September – 18th
September
Raid Abu Hussein
Nathan Bancroft
Ashlee Cain
Kayleigh Childs
Chloe Cole
Owen Cooper
Amy Franklin
Mercedeze Fretton
Lily Graham
Melissa Helps
George Holloway
Aidan Jarvis
Lauren King
Hannah Lane
Adam Laudrum
Jessie Lewis
Tilly McGee
Jake Duong – 5 A* grades, 5 A grades and 1 B
Chelsea Harris – 4 A* grades, 4 As and 1 B and 1 C
Tom Ramsey – 3 A* grades, 3 As, 1 B and 2 Cs
Rhiannon Tate – 2 A* grades, 5 As and 2 Bs
Emily Howell – 2 A* grades, 4 As and 4 Bs
Adam Gausden – 1 A* grade, 6 As and 2 Bs
Courtney Dearing – 1 A* grade, 5 As and 3 Bs
Hollie Shuttlewood - 7 A grades and 2 Bs
Freya Sansum - 6 A grades, 3 Bs and 2 Cs
Students of the week
Molly Durham 7T
Myles Blackwell 7T
Harry Cridland 8T
James Morgan 9H
Emily Kendrick 10A
The school is in excellent shape, with a strong, committed staff team,
and I am confident that we now have a solid platform on which to build
towards further accomplishments in the future. We know that our
current Year 11 cohort will want to do even better than their
predecessors and we will relish the prospect of supporting them to do
just that. It promises to be an exciting year ahead!
Listening Champions of the
week
Callum Postill 9U
Kia Boyce-Ihekwoaba 9H
Trevor Lawn
Headteacher
Telephone: 01376 321813 | admin@alechunter.com | www.alechunter.com
22 September 2015| Week A | Issue #39
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Uniform
I should just like to extend my thanks to parents for responding so
positively to our request that all students should adhere to our
uniform policy, particularly with regard to trousers and footwear.
Before the holidays, we communicated our intention to re-establish a
more consistent standard in these areas and we are most grateful for
your cooperation with this.
Our young people look smart, professional and wear the Alec Hunter
badge with great pride, making them the envy of other schools whose
students do not share our own high expectations. The impression they
give is that they are serious about their studies and this undoubtedly
has a positive impact on their learning. Thanks again for supporting
our stance.
Toilet Makeover Complete, thanks to
£135,000 Funding Bid
During the summer holidays, the student toilets on D corridor and in
the Evans block were completely remodelled and refurbished through
a substantial £135,000 project. This was made possible thanks to a
successful bid to the Academies’ Condition Improvement Fund,
following frequent feedback from students and parents expressing
dissatisfaction with the
standard of the facilities.
The new toilets are all
individual
cubicles,
equipped to a high
standard, and are a vast
improvement on the
previous arrangements.
We sincerely hope that
everyone will help to
keep them looking as
fresh and fabulous as
they do at the moment
by
respecting
the
facilities so that they will
remain
in
excellent
condition for many years
to come.
Bonus Vivo Winners
Emma Day 7N
Mason Prest 7E
Kaylah Johnson 9N
Callum Denson 9T
Eleanor Burder 9E
Ben Cakebread 9N
Lewis Kelly 9R
Lauren Jacob 9E
Golden Ticket Winners
Lewis Purkiss 7H
Frank Whitworth 7N
Nathan Keeble 8U
Liam Davey 9N
Liam Broster 9E
Callum Partridge 10N
Clean Responsibility Card
Winners
Emily Wager 7H
Ciara Chudasama 7H
Nathan Keeble 8U
Dominik Slomion 8N
Ross Merry 8T
Evie Dodge 9R
Shanna Rushen 9U
Telephone: 01376 321813 | admin@alechunter.com | www.alechunter.com
22 September 2015| Week A | Issue #39
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New Staff
We were delighted to welcome a number of new staff at the start of the academic year, as follows:
Mr Adady – Acting Head of MFL
Having previously taught at Alec Hunter from January 1990 to December 2005, Mr Adady
rejoins the MFL team to lead the department while Mrs Steward is on maternity leave. Mr
Adady left AHA with a fantastic reputation and we are so pleased to have him back with
us.
Mr Davies – Lead Teacher of English
Mr Davies joins us from Maltings Academy, a school which has seen sharp rises in English
results in recent years. We are looking forward to Mr Davies having a similar impact at
Alec Hunter and feel he will be a great addition to our team.
Mr Goldsmith – Teacher of ICT/Computer Science
Mr Goldsmith has taught at several schools in Essex and East London, including
Beauchamps in Wickford and the Anglo-European in Ingatestone. We are fortunate to
have recruited such an experienced colleague in a key curriculum area.
Mr Kitchingman – Teacher of Technology
Mr Kitchingman is another familiar face to AHA after a previous stint in 2012. He knows
the department well and his experience will help the Technology team to build on their
excellent 2015 results.
Miss Krug – Teacher of English
Miss Krug comes to Alec Hunter all the way from the USA via New Rickstones Academy.
She is excited to be joining a rapidly improving team and we are confident that she will
add value to the English department.
Telephone: 01376 321813 | admin@alechunter.com | www.alechunter.com
22 September 2015| Week A | Issue #39
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Miss Tunnicliff –Teacher of P.E.
Miss Tunnicliff takes up a position with the P.E. team whilst Miss Jones is on maternity
leave. She has previously worked at Boswells in Chelmsford and in East London, but is
delighted to become part of Team Alec!
Miss Holmes – Data Support Officer
After securing a Maths degree and travelling in Asia, Miss Holmes joins our admin team
to replace Mr MacBean as Data Support Officer. We are sure she has all the necessary
credentials to thrive in this role.
Farewells
We also bid farewell to a couple of long-standing members
of our support staff over the summer holiday period. We
would like to take this opportunity to thank them both for
their enormous contribution to the smooth running of the
school throughout the course of their employment, which
spanned an impressive combined total of 20 years. Thank
you to Mrs Lisa Artus - Community Development and
Learning Village Coordinator and Mrs Gill D’Andrea – SEN
Administrator, who are both wished all the very best of luck
with their future endeavours.
Mrs Artus
Mrs D’Andrea
Sports Awards Evening Report by Mr Edwards – Head of P.E. & Performing Arts
On Thursday 17th September, we held our 7th Sports Awards Evening. Over 140 students were nominated
for awards, ranging from the ‘Colour Awards’ for attendance, participation and commitment to the P.E.
department, to the all-important ‘Sports Personality of the Year’. Again this year, we had two mysterious
benefactors donate a total of £50 worth of Adidas vouchers for the winner and a heartfelt thanks goes out
to these kind sponsors. Our big winner this year was Louise Childs who has attended nearly every club we
have run since she first started in Year 7, and over the last four years, has represented the school in a huge
number of sports at a high level, even playing for Essex Hockey.
Our special guest this year was Glenn Kirkham. Glenn represented Team GB in two Olympic Games (Beijing
and London) and even captained the team. He gave a very motivational speech and answered some tricky
questions from the audience.
Telephone: 01376 321813 | admin@alechunter.com | www.alechunter.com
22 September 2015| Week A | Issue #39
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Many thanks go to the winners, all the staff who helped organise the evening, the governors who support
the P.E. Department, Glenn Kirkham for his time, and of course the parents who transport their children
from place to place to enable them to participate in school sport.
Year 7 Summer School Report by Mrs Truscott - Year 7 Pastoral Leader
During the summer, a number of our new Year 7 students volunteered to attend a two week summer
school programme, run by PET-Xi. Fortunately the weather was kind and some of the activities were able
to take place outside. The aim was to support students with a smooth transition to secondary school, and
they had lots of fun participating in sporting activities as well as arts and crafts. There were also classes to
improve numeracy and literacy skills.
At the end of the programme, we held a celebration event, inviting families to see the work covered. The
summer school certainly helped to ease any anxiety the students may have had about starting secondary
school, by familiarising them with their new surroundings.
A huge well done to all of the Year 7 students that volunteered to take part in this year’s summer school.
Telephone: 01376 321813 | admin@alechunter.com | www.alechunter.com
22 September 2015| Week A | Issue #39
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School Production – 7th to 9th July 2015
Audiences witnessed the culmination of many
months of hard work, when they came to watch the
school’s annual production, “Hairspray”. The musical
was performed over three evenings by students from
Year 7 through to Year 10. Those who didn’t manage
to catch any of the performances missed a fabulous
evening of entertainment from a brilliant cast.
As a musical, “Hairspray” demands that the performer is able to deliver a detailed technical performance at
an advanced level, particularly for the leading roles. It was a credit to the students that they were able to
achieve this, playing their roles with conviction and making their characters fully plausible.
Comments from members of the audience included, “It was amazing, I can’t believe how good the cast are”,
“Out of this world”, “It’s been the best amateur show that I’ve seen for many years”, “Quite simply
outstanding.”
This production of “Hairspray” would not have been possible without the generous help and goodwill of
many people. The Performing Arts team would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the parents, the
staff who willingly volunteered their free time, and everyone associated with helping bring this production
to fruition, giving their time, effort and support.
Finally, one last thank you to the cast and crew. After the countless lunchtime, after school weekend and
holiday rehearsals, blood, sweat and the occasional tear, we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.
Congratulations to the cast of “Hairspray”, you were simply outstanding!
Tracy Turnblad
Corny Collins
Edna Turnblad
Penny Pingleton
Amber Von Tussle
Velma Von Tussle
Link Larkin
Seaweed J. Stubbs
Little Inez
Motormouth Maybelle
Wilbur Turnblad
Prudy Pingleton
Mr. Pinky
Matron
Harriman F. Spritzer
Sophie Rutland (Year 10)
Elliot Goodman (Year 11)
Jordan Rogers (Year 11)
Lucy Greenaway (Year 11)
Megan Sealey (Year 11)
Trinity Wilson (Year 11)
George Malyan (Year 10)
Jehad Salahuddin (Year 11)
Jamahl Godward (Year 8)
Natasha Limani (Year 11)
Oliver Sproston (Year 10)
Lisa Blunt (Year 11)
William Atkinson (Year 10)
Kirsty Medland (Year 11)
Adam Reid (Year 9)
Council members:
Hayden Acott (Y11), Declan Easter (Y10), Emily Griffiths (Y10), Ellie Harris (Y11),
Bradley Morris (Y11), Saffron Ralph (Y11), Adam Reid (Y9) and Abigail Ruggles (Y10)
The Dynamites:
Emmanuella Solomon (Y11), Illiana Anderson (Y9) and Victoria Sharpe (Y11)
Telephone: 01376 321813 | admin@alechunter.com | www.alechunter.com
22 September 2015| Week A | Issue #39
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Ensemble:
Year 11 - Emily Chapman, Jake Ellis, Carlene Hammond, Marnie Norton, Lewis Raison, Emily Sharp,
Amy Slayman, Mia Stringer, Gina Thomas and Zoe Tomlinson
Year 10 - Laura Hardison Taylor, Olivia Harris and Emily Kendrick
Year 9 - Larisa Calugar, Maria Carroll and Kaylah Johnson
Year 8 - Macey-Louise Downer, Grace Gooderham-Blake, Joshua Harris, Jessie Lewis, Louise Price,
Rebecca Sandford and Jo Saunders
Telephone: 01376 321813 | admin@alechunter.com | www.alechunter.com
22 September 2015| Week A | Issue #39
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Telephone: 01376 321813 | admin@alechunter.com | www.alechunter.com
22 September 2015| Week A | Issue #39
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Telephone: 01376 321813 | admin@alechunter.com | www.alechunter.com
22 September 2015| Week A | Issue #39
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22 September 2015| Week A | Issue #39
Telephone: 01376 321813 | admin@alechunter.com | www.alechunter.com
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LINE MANAGEMENT
Please find below our line management arrangements for students. The first point of contact for enquiries should be
your child’s tutor and then their Pastoral Leader. Our Achievement Coordinators focus on your child’s overall
achievement and progress in lessons.
YEAR 7
YEAR 8
YEAR 9
YEAR 10
YEAR 11
Mrs Johnson
Pastoral Leader
Mrs Truscott
Pastoral Leader
Pastoral Issues
Form Tutors
Mrs Truscott
Pastoral Leader
Mrs Porter
Pastoral Leader
Miss McInerney
Pastoral Leader
11H/U – Mrs Porter
11N/T – Mrs Johnson
11E/R – Miss McInerney
11A – Mrs Truscott
Mrs Richards
Assistant Headteacher
Miss Chamberlain
Assistant Headteacher
Achievement & Progress Issues
Mr Holland
Achievement
Coordinator
Mr Moreno
Achievement
Coordinator
Miss McEvoy
Achievement
Coordinator
Mr Booth
Achievement
Coordinator
Mr Birley
Assistant Headteacher
Mr Wilding
Mr Lee
Achievement
Coordinators
Mr Woods
Deputy Headteacher
Mrs Richards / Miss Chamberlain
Child Protection
Mrs J Jackson / Miss L Morgan
Attendance Officers
Should you have a subject-related query, for example, regarding homework etc., the first point of contact should be
the class teacher. Listed below are the Heads of each Curriculum Area, along with the member of the Leadership
Group responsible for each Curriculum Area, to help parents in knowing who to approach for assistance.
Subject
Head of Curriculum Area
Senior Leader
English/Media Studies
Mr McKenna
Mr Woods
Mathematics
Mr Woods (Acting HoCA)
Mr Lawn
Science
Mr Fernandez
Miss Chamberlain
Geography/History/RPE/Citizenship
Ms Woolnough
Mr Birley
Technology/Art/Child Development
Mr Todd
Mr Fox
French/German/Spanish
Mr Adady (Acting HoCA)
Mr Lawn
ICT/Computer Science/Business Studies
Mrs Ross
Mr Birley
PE/Drama/Music
Mr Edwards
Mr Fox
Special Educational Needs
Mr Gilbert
Mr Birley
Learning for Life
Miss Marriott
Mr Fox
Leisure & Tourism/Retail Services/Workskills
Mr Sykes-Wood
Mr Fox